Higginbotham: “United Don’t Need Another Striker. They Need More Goals From Midfield” [Audio]

After last night’s 4-0 demolition of Club Brugge, ex-United man Danny Higginbotham and Southend manager Phil Brown discussed the tactical nuances involved in getting the best out of Wayne Rooney.

They spoke about the difference it made playing as a 4-3-3 with Herrera in the advanced midfield position, and the importance of overlapping runs from the wider players, in order to create space for Rooney. The movement in the second half was key, and the likes of Herrera, Memphis and Rooney can offer that in abundance when the system is right, with supreme passers like Mata, Carrick and Schweinsteiger able to spot runs from deep, whilst an attacking 3 can interchange more intricately up-front.

The verdict from the Sky Sports pair was that United don’t need another top striker as playing 2 up front isn’t going to happen – they need a system that maximises Rooney’s impact, and they need more goals from the midfield to take some of the emphasis off the United number 10. It’s not unthinkable that players like Memphis and Herrera could get 10 goals each this season, but 4-3-3 is surely the formation we need to stick with in the majority of games.